When Kendra Whitlock Ingram came to Pittsburgh as a Duquesne University music education major in the early 1990s, the newly minted Pittsburgh Cultural Trust was working through its initial phase of deploying the arts to rejuvenate Downtown.Three decades later, Ingram has returned to Pittsburgh as the trust’s president and CEO, poised to guide the organization as it assumes an expanded role in the city’s latest cycle of arts-aided rebirth.“Where we are now in the evolution of the Cultural District is trying to stitch the district together so it has a cohesive look and feel,” she says. “We’re seeking to create a very clear demarcation of a neighborhood.”Taken as a neighborhood, Pittsburgh’s Cultural District spans a 14-square-block area from David L. Lawrence Convention Center to Stanwix Street. It is home to more than 1 million square feet of real estate enlivened by dozens of world-class theaters, concert halls, parks, art galleries and installations, restaurants and retail stores.The Benedum Center marquee on Seventh Street in 2018. Photo courtesy of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.The trust is also the largest theatrical employer in southwestern Pennsylvania, producing several hundred public and private events a year.Ingram’s experience using cultural activity to boost grassroots civic renewal has been shaped by leadership positions with symphonies and arts venues in Tulsa, Phoenix, Omaha, Detroit, Baltimore, Denver, Milwaukee and Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia.“As a new person coming to Pittsburgh after the pandemic reopening,” she says, “it’s a good time to look at our major goals for the next five to 10 years. What do we want to accomplish?”*  *  *NEXTpittsburgh: What are some of the upcoming initiatives for the Cultural District?Kendra Whitlock Ingram: One thing we want to accomplish is preserving the investment that has been made in the Cultural District over the years, particularly around the theaters. We’ve launched a fairly large capital improvements plan for the Benedum, Byham and O’Reilly theaters because they are due for some upgrades.We took a deep-dive look at all of the property we own within the district. We wanted to determine which of these are most mission-aligned, where there is opportunity to lean into our mission even more from an arts and culture perspective and how to utilize some of our spaces in a more productive way. How can we use our open spaces to benefit more people?Kendra Whitlock Ingram, who became president and CEO of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust in February 2023, is photographed in the Benedum Center for the Performing Arts. Photo by John Beale.NEXTpittsburgh: Besides those people already attending trust concerts and other events.Ingram: Yes. We’ve been very good at getting people to come to the district for events, but how can we make our spaces welcoming for Downtown residents? For Downtown workers? For people who just want to relax in some pretty green space? What can the trust do to encourage that?One example is doing more with the Backyard, our performance and recreation space located at Eighth Street and Penn Avenue. This summer we worked with the Better Block Foundation to introduce a wider range of amenities. They painted some pickleball courts and put up temporary furniture of hammocks and lounge chairs. We had a full schedule of live music and fashion pop-ups and food trucks, and in October we’ll be hosting the Highmark International StrEAT Festival.The Backyard at 8th & Penn. Photo courtesy of Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.NEXTpittsburgh: That’s a great deal of activity where there wasn’t much before.Ingram: The Better Block folks told us the furniture was only meant to last about four to six months. By the end of this summer they were over-used! And it gave us a sense that there is a desire for people to have spaces to gather just for recreation and relaxing and enjoying the views of the river and the bridges from the Cultural District. It is also aligned with a citywide initiative of revitalizing other Downtown public spaces in advance of the NFL Draft coming to Pittsburgh in 2026, as well as part of a larger Allegheny Conference on Community Development plan for Downtown.NEXTpittsburgh: What other types of programming is the trust planning that might enhance people’s connection with the district?Ingram: People often look at the arts as things they take in rather than something they can participate in. We have a new chief programming and engagement officer, Brooke Horejsi, and she and I have been talking about more in-depth community engagement residencies with artists that would extend lifelong learning and lifelong love of engaging with arts through multiple disciplines — dance, theater — various genres of music. One of the best examples we just started is a program called the Lullaby Project. We have teaching artists help families write lullabies for their babies. We had our first culminating concert in June.SPACE Gallery in the Pittsburgh Cultural District. Photo by Jennifer Baron.NEXTpittsburgh: The trust regularly sponsors quite a lot of programming with youth and K-12 students, doesn’t it?Ingram: We do, but this is the first program we’ve done that engages adults in this participatory way. It’s the idea of getting them involved directly in the creative process so that they also become a lifelong consumer of arts and realize they can engage in ways they didn’t think they could.This kind of programming can be a combination of visual and performing arts. You might call it programming that’s “arts-adjacent.” As we look at the parklike setting we’ve created on the Eighth Street block, are there opportunities for a yoga class or dance lessons? Other activities that are somewhat event-based but also more casual and would allow for a passerby to engage in the artmaking as it happens?NEXTpittsburgh: You had mentioned giving some of the Cultural District spaces a more connected visual appearance.The Backyard at 8th & Penn. Photo courtesy of Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.Ingram: We are renovating a lot of open spaces with the goal of making them look like they are part of a family. You will see common design elements in each of the spaces, spaces like the 8th Street Block, the Oasis on Seventh Street, the Magnolias for Pittsburgh Art Park at Seventh and Penn. They won’t look identical, but when you mix in the theaters, the main intersections within the district, they all will have a cohesive look and feel. When a visitor steps into the Cultural District, they’ll say, “I’m in a neighborhood, and that neighborhood has a heavy influence of arts and culture. But it also has food and residential and retail and business.”NEXTpittsburgh: Point Park University has been a longtime educational anchor for the Cultural District. Is the trust seeking to tie in other local universities more closely with Downtown?Ingram: For sure. I’m a proud Duquesne alum and also on the university board of directors, and I’m starting to get more engaged with the School of Music again. The trust’s largest programming arm is our nationally touring Broadway series, so we’ve been developing a deeper relationship with the Carnegie Mellon University theater department.Ingram grew up in Scranton and attended Duquesne University. She’s now made it a goal to give Downtown Pittsburgh’s Cultural District a more neighborhood feel. Photo by John Beale.They had an idea about starting a speaker series similar to “Inside the Actors Studio,” where successful CMU arts alumni would be interviewed and share insights about their career. It’s called Behind the Scenes, and our inaugural presentation was with Leslie Odom Jr. interviewed by CMU School of Drama head Robert Ramirez. It had a great turnout, and we’re looking for more events like this that showcase what’s happening with our Pittsburgh universities.NEXTpittsburgh: What other types of programming is the trust planning that might give the Cultural District more of a neighborhood feel?Ingram: We are leaning into the visual arts, particularly public art. We’ll see more public art installations within the district, because those are programming elements people can enjoy all the time, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.Our priority is ensuring that we continue to activate the district through arts and culture. We have to take the lead envisioning what Downtown could look like in the years to come. The future of the Cultural Trust and Cultural District is creating an arts and culture neighborhood where people want to live, work and play. The post Can the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust make Downtown an arts neighborhood? appeared first on NEXTpittsburgh.